$2,400 “Introduction to Linux” course will be free and online this summer

The Linux Foundation is putting its training materials up on edX's platform.

Earlier this week, The Linux Foundation announced that it would be working with edX, a non-profit online learning site governed by Harvard and MIT, to make its “Introduction to Linux” course free and open to all.

The Linux Foundation has long offered a wide variety of training courses through its website, but those can generally cost upwards of $2,000. This introductory class, which usually costs $2,400, will be the first from the Linux Foundation to run as a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). There is no limit on enrollment through edX's platform.

The course will be held this summer, although an official start date has not been posted yet. Jennifer Cloer, Director of Communications for the Linux Foundation, said that over 2,500 people signed up for the course within the first 24 hours of it being posted. There are no prerequisites, and a note on the course's information page says that most users will find the course takes between 40 and 60 hours to complete.

Students can either audit the course, which means they'd get access to all the course materials but not have to commit to completing the tests and assignments, or they can take the course for a certificate of completion, which will be offered for free. (On some edX classes, "verified certificates of achievement" cost a fee.)

If all goes smoothly, the Linux Foundation may consider making more courses available on edX in the future.

In the press release from the Linux Foundation, Executive Director Jim Zemlin wrote, “Our mission is to advance Linux, and that includes ensuring we have a talent pool of Linux professionals. To widen that talent pool and give more people access to the opportunities in the Linux community and IT industry, we are making our training program more accessible to users worldwide.”